Fishing boats and other vessels are often equipped with a trolling motor for providing a relatively small amount of thrust to slowly and quietly propel the boat or vessel. They advantageously provide for a finer adjustment of watercraft position than a main motor/propeller combination. One example of a contemporary trolling motor system may be found at U.S. Pat. No. 7,722,417 to Bernloehr et al., the entire teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Trolling motors remain a viable and sought after apparatus for various applications, including but not limited to fishing, recreation, and commercial applications. Over time, two distinct steering configurations have become quite desirable, for different reasons.
The first is the cable steer configuration. Such configurations typically include a pedal with one or more control cables extending therefrom. As a user manipulates the position of the pedal, they also manipulate the control cables. The control cables are connected to a trolling motor assembly in a tensioned state, such that their movement causes a rotation of the trolling motor assembly to manipulate the direction of thrust provided by the trolling motor assembly. This allows the user to steer a watercraft incorporating the trolling motor assembly. An example of such a cable steer configuration may be seen at U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,633 to Bernloehr, the entire teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein
From the above, it will be recognized that such cable steer configurations are purely mechanical in their steering configuration such that the pedal is mechanically linked to the trolling motor assembly. As a result, movement of the pedal causes movement of the trolling motor assembly, and vice versa. As such, there is a tactile feedback provided in the pedal based upon the movement of the trolling motor assembly, as well as its angular orientation about a longitudinal axis extending along a length of trolling motor system. This tactile feedback has made such cable steer configurations desirable to many users, as it allows them to “feel” the position of the trolling motor assembly based upon the feedback at the pedal.
Second, there is the electronic steer configuration. Such “fly-by-wire” systems may utilize a pedal or other control, but instead of a mechanical linkage an electrical signal is provided to the trolling motor assembly based upon a user input to govern the steering of the trolling motor assembly. Such systems incorporate a steering motor which, upon receipt of the electrical signal, moves the trolling motor assembly to a desired position. While such systems do not provide the tactile feedback of mechanical cable configurations described above, they offer the advantage of various electronic steering control functions such as auto-pilot, and other navigational functions, for example those functions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,386,368, 5,884,213, 8,463,470, 8,463,458, 8,577,525, 8,606,432, 8,543,269, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/479,381, and 13/174,944. The teachings and disclosures of each of the aforementioned issued patents and pending applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Additionally, such electronic steer systems do not require an abundance of actuation force to steer the same, regardless of other conditions. Indeed, in a cable steer system, the flow of water past the motor and propeller of the trolling motor assembly as the watercraft is moving may cause the trolling motor assembly to rotate from its current position, a phenomena referred to as “torque steer.” A user must counter-act this by placing a greater actuation force on the pedal. In electronic systems, the motor providing the steering force is scaled to handle a broad range of operational reaction forces. There is no need to press a pedal harder or the like if there is a greater current acting upon the trolling motor system in such systems.
The above described automated navigational functionality and input force independence of trolling motors utilizing electronic steer configurations has also made such systems quite desirable. While both the cable steer and electronic steer configurations provide distinct advantages, users have heretofore had to choose between the set of advantages provided by each system. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a trolling motor system that provides both the tactile feedback of a conventional cable steer system, but also allows for automated electronic steering functionality
The invention provides such a trolling motor system. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.